BBQ Veggies & Greek Lentil Salad

So many colors means a wide variety of nutrients!

There was a variety of new things on this plate for us. The corn, potatoes, bell peppers and onions were all done the on the BBQ. I will mention how down below, as well as the basics for the spinach salad. The bread is home made whole wheat bread (some day soon I will give the recipe), and the funny looking brown stuff between the corn and the bell peppers is a lentil salad. Since that was the real new NEW thing in the meal, I will start with it.

Greek Lentil Salad

Try this salad as a take-along lunch or a light dinner. Unlike most dried beans, lentils don’t need to be soaked before cooking, but they still offer all the same protein and fiber benefits.

Serves 4 (or more like 8 smaller servings ;-)

• 1 cup French green lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 small onion
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 small cucumber, diced (1 cup)
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced (1 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Place lentils, onion, bay leaves, and 6 cups water in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Drain, remove onion and bay leaves, and cool.
2. Stir together shallot and lemon juice in large bowl. Add lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, mint, and oil; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Chill 1 hour, or overnight. Serve topped with feta.

Per Serving (1 Cup): 228 calories, 12g protein, 7g total fat (2g sat. fat), 33g carbs, 8mg cholesterol, 116 mg sodium, 8g fiber, 4g sugars

Recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine, June 2011, pg. 61.

Notes: I don't know how you would possibly eat a whole cup of this! But maybe that is because I have only had lentils a few times before, and that was in soup!

Our Opinions

Erika - Before even tasting it: "The thing about this salad is the way it looks - weird!"
After tasting it: "The texture is mushy and grainy. It is like baby food that is not quite processed all the way. I don't really care for it." (a nice way of saying - I don't like it!)

1-1/2 stars out of 5 (I think she was trying to be kind)

William - "Didn't like it at all"

1 out of 5 stars

Jeff - I really liked the fresh mint (fresh mint & rosemary compliments of Jeff's mom's garden - so it was REALLY fresh!) and the tomatoes. "I think I overcooked the lentils, because they were a bit mushy". Mainly Jeff said he was glad to try something totally new. Especially since he had never had lentils in a salad before, and considering that he does not like cucumbers.

2 out of 5 stars

Michelle - The flavor was rather fresh, especially compared to everything else on the plate. The texture is a bit of a problem. I will eat more of this salad, probably for lunch tomorrow. Maybe sitting overnight will improve the salad over all.

2 out of 5 stars

Garrett was gone for this meal. Maybe I will save some for him to try when he gets home tomorrow!

Overall Opinion -  Jeff and I will eat a bit more, but I doubt we will eat it all. This is one dish we will not make again!

Average Rating: 1.6 out of 5 stars

Now THAT is out of the way, the rest of the meal was great! Plus, it was easy to make.

Corn on the Cob with Basil-Parmesan Butter

• 1/4 C. softened butter
• 1/4 C. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 T. finely chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 1/4 t. granulated garlic
• 4 ears corn, husked

1. Mix everything together (except corn ;-).
2. Rub about 1 T. of seasoned butter mixture into corn.
3. Grill over Direct Medium heat until tender and browned in spots, about 10 - 15 minutes, turning occasionally. 
4. Serve warm with the remaining butter spread on the corn.

Notes - I did 5 ears of corn, and used a bit less butter, plus I had plenty of butter left over that I tossed. BUT, we have raised our kids using hardly any butter (they don't put it on toast, pancakes, rolls, potatoes - just because that is how they have grown up). We normally only salt and pepper our corn, so BBQ-ing the corn with seasoned butter was novel - and none of us added any more butter when it was served.

Our Opinion

To keep it quick, let me just say, everyone thought the corn was delicious! It drew the movie quote - and joke around the dinner table of: "This corn is an angel".

Grill Roasted New Potatoes

The short of it is, cut up however many small red potatoes you need (based upon how many people you are feeding) into quarters. For about 6 potatoes, combine 2 T. olive oil, 2 t. fresh rosemary, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper. Toss the potatoes in the oil mixture. Grill over direct medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes, turning about every 5 minutes.

Our Opinion

Everyone really liked the potatoes, they were a big hit!

Spinach Salad

I love fixing spinach salads, because they are so quick! Almost no prep time involved. For this salad I used fresh spinach with mandarin oranges, feta cheese, walnuts, and dried cranberries. I drizzled a little fat free poppyseed dressing over the top and tossed it all together.

Our Opinion

Everyone liked the salad a lot. Erika is my non-salad eater (though she is getting better - she always has a little!), but she does prefer salads with fruit. She said she liked this salad, but would prefer it without the dressing.


Overall opinion of the meal (not including the lentil salad since that was a flop): 4 out of 5 stars


Whew! Time for bed!